
Erkelenz (, ) is a town in the
Rhineland
The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...
in western Germany that lies southwest of
Mönchengladbach
Mönchengladbach (, ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany, west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Netherlands, Dutch border.
Geography Municipal subdivisions
Since 2009, th ...
on the northern edge of the
Cologne Lowland The Cologne Lowland,Dickinson 1953, 35, 461–64, 466–73.Elkins 1968, 229. also called the Cologne Bay or, less commonly, the Cologne Bight (, ), is a densely populated area of Germany lying between the cities of Bonn, Aachen, and Düsseldorf/Neus ...
, halfway between the
Lower Rhine region
The Lower Rhine region or Niederrhein () is a region around the Lower Rhine section of the river Rhine in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between approximately Oberhausen and Krefeld in the East and the Dutch border around Kleve in the West ...
and the Lower
Meuse
The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of .
History
From 1301, the upper ...
. It is a medium-sized town (over 44,000) and the largest in the
district of Heinsberg in
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...
.
Despite the town having more than 1,000 years of history and tradition, in 2006 the eastern part of the borough was cleared to make way for the
Garzweiler II brown coal pit operated by
RWE Power. This is planned to be in operation until 2045. Over five thousand people from ten villages have had to be resettled as a result. Since 2010, the inhabitants of the easternmost village of
Pesch have left and most have moved to the new villages of Immerath and Borschemich in the areas of Kückhoven and Erkelenz-Nord.
Geography
Landscape
The area is characterised by the gently rolling to almost level countryside of the
Jülich-Zülpich Börde, whose fertile
loess
A loess (, ; from ) is a clastic rock, clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loesses or similar deposition (geology), deposits.
A loess ...
soils are predominantly used for
agriculture
Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
. Settlements and roads cover about 20 per cent of the area of the borough and only 2 per cent is wooded.
[Landesbetrieb Information und Technik Nordrhein-Westfalen (IT.NRW), Kommunalprofil Erkelen]
[Percentages are rounded off] The
Wahnenbusch, the largest contiguous wooded area, is located south of the town of Tenholt and covers . In the north the ''börde'' gives way to the forests and waterways of the
Schwalm–
Nette-Plateau, part of the
Lower Rhine Plain. In the west on the far side of the town, lies the
Rur
Rur or RUR may refer to:
* Rur (river), a tributary of the Meuse, mostly in Germany
* '' R.U.R.'', a 1920 Czech sci-fi play by Karel Čapek
* Russian ruble, a currency (pre-1998 ISO 4217 code: RUR)
* Ohaw, or rur, a Japanese soup dish
* Rur., a ...
depression, some . Its transition is part of the
Baal
Baal (), or Baʻal, was a title and honorific meaning 'owner' or 'lord
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The ...
Riedelland. Here, streams have created a richly varying landscape of hills and valleys. In the east is the source region of the River
Niers
The Niers (, ) is a river in Germany and the Netherlands, a right tributary of the river Meuse (German and ). Its wellspring is near Erkelenz, south of Mönchengladbach, in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany).
Course and length
The Niers flows thr ...
near Kuckum and Keyenberg. To the south the land climbs up towards the
Jackerath loess ridge. The lowest point lies at above
sea level (NN) (Niers region in the northeast and near the Ophover Mill in the southwest) and the highest point is above NN (on the boundary of the borough near Holzweiler/Immerath in the south).
Climate
The climate is influenced by the Atlantic
Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream is a warm and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida and up the eastern coastline of the United States, then veers east near 36°N latitude (North Carolin ...
at the crossover between maritime and continental climates. The prevailing winds are from the southwest and there is precipitation all year round. Annual precipitation amounts to about , whereby August is the wettest and September the driest month. Summers are warm and winters mild. In July the average temperature is and, in January, . The length of the cold season with a minimum temperature below is less than 60 days, the number of summer's days with temperatures above averages 30, with an additional eight "tropical" days with daytime temperatures of more than and night temperatures over , and there are an average of 20 days of thunderstorms. The onset of spring, which is reckoned from the budding of cherry, apple and pear trees, occurs between 29 April and 5 May. High summer, which begins with the harvest of winter rye, starts between 10 and 16 July.
Geology
The Erkelenz Börde is the northernmost extent of the Jülich Börde and is formed from a loess
plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...
that has an average thickness of over eleven metres in this area. Beneath it are the
gravel
Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone.
Gr ...
s and
sand
Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...
s of the main
ice age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...
terrace, laid down by the
Rhine
The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
and the
Meuse
The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of .
History
From 1301, the upper ...
. Embedded in the loess in places are lenses of
marl
Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, Clay minerals, clays, and silt. When Lithification, hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae.
M ...
that were mined until the 20th century in order to obtain
lime by driving shafts and galleries underground. In the
Tertiary period
The Tertiary ( ) is an obsolete Period (geology), geologic period spanning 66 million to 2.6 or 1.8 million years ago. The period began with the extinction of the non-bird, avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at t ...
the Erkelenz
horst was formed along geological
fault line
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...
s. East of the horst runs the
Venlo
Venlo () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in southeastern Netherlands, close to the border with Germany. It is situated in the province of Limburg (Netherlands), ...
fault block (''Scholle''), to the west is the Rur Scholle, to the south the
Erft
The Erft () is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It flows through the foothills of the Eifel, and joins the Lower Rhine (left tributary). Its origin is near Nettersheim, and its mouth in Neuss-Grimlinghausen south of the Josef Cardina ...
Scholle and the
Jackerath Horst. A small section of the horst is part of the
Wassenberg Horst. Thick seams of
brown coal
Lignite (derived from Latin ''lignum'' meaning 'wood'), often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, Combustion, combustible sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35% and is considered ...
from the Tertiary and of
black coal
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''Psy ...
from the
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous ( ) is a Geologic time scale, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the ...
are located underground. The Erkelenz Horst is part of the Cologne Lowland Earthquake Region.
Borough
The town's administrative territory, or borough, is across from east to west and from north to south. Its neighbouring administrative units, clockwise from the north, are:
* Town of
Wegberg
Wegberg (; ) is the northernmost town in the district of Heinsberg (district), Heinsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Geography
Wegberg is situated between Mönchengladbach in the northeast and Erkelenz in the southeast; the town of Rhein ...
( north, Heinsberg district)
* Independent town of
Mönchengladbach
Mönchengladbach (, ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany, west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Netherlands, Dutch border.
Geography Municipal subdivisions
Since 2009, th ...
, ( northeast)
* Municipality of
Jüchen
Jüchen () is a municipality in the Rhein-Kreis Neuss, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
The municipality of Jüchen consists of 17 villages and several hamlets. The most important villages are Jüchen itself (6600 inhabitants) and Hochneukirc ...
( east,
Rhein-Kreis Neuss
Neuss is a Kreis (district) in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Nearby are the urban districts Mönchengladbach, Krefeld, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Cologne, the districts Rhein-Erft-Kreis, Düren, Heinsberg and the district Viersen.
...
district)
* Municipality of
Titz
Titz is a municipality in the district of Düren in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located approximately north-east of Jülich and south of Mönchengladbach.
Since the local government reform of 1975, Titz Municipality co ...
( southeast,
Düren district)
* Town of
Linnich
Linnich is a town in the district of Düren in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the River Rur (Roer river), approx. 10 km north-west of Jülich.
Economy
Linnich is the home of SIG Combibloc, the specialist fo ...
( southwest, Düren district)
* Town of
Hückelhoven
Hückelhoven (; ) is a town in the district of Heinsberg, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the river Rur, approx. 10 km east of Heinsberg, 20 km south-west of Mönchengladbach and approximately 15 km from the bo ...
( west, Heinsberg district)
* Town of
Wassenberg ( northwest, Heinsberg district)

The town of Erkelenz emerged in its present configuration as a result of the Aachen land reform bill of 21 December 1971 (the ''Aachen-Gesetz''). According to this law ''inter alia'' the former districts of
Erkelenz
Erkelenz (, ) is a town in the Rhineland in western Germany that lies southwest of Mönchengladbach on the northern edge of the Cologne Lowland, halfway between the Lower Rhine region and the Lower Meuse. It is a medium-sized town (over 44,000) ...
and
Geilenkirchen-Heinsberg were to be merged on 1 January 1972. Erkelenz lost its status as the county town to Heinsberg and was amalgamated with the municipalities of Borschemich, Gerderath, Golkrath, Granterath, Holzweiler, Immerath, Keyenberg, Kückhoven, Lövenich, Schwanenberg and Venrath, as well as the parishes of Geneiken and Kuckum. The area of its borough increased from .
According to the law, the borough of Erkelenz is divided into nine districts with a total of 46 villages and hamlets (population as at 31 October 2009):
* District 1: Erkelenz with the villages of
Oestrich and Buscherhof as well as
Borschemich,
Borschemich (new),
Bellinghoven and
Oerath, a total of 20,173 inhabitants
* District 2:
Gerderath with
Fronderath,
Gerderhahn,
Moorheide and
Vossem, a total of 5,179 inhabitants
* District 3:
Schwanenberg with
Geneiken,
Genfeld,
Genhof,
Grambusch and
Lentholt, a total of 2,265 inhabitants
* District 4:
Golkrath with
Houverath,
Houverather Heide,
Hoven and
Matzerath, a total of 2,039 inhabitants
* District 5:
Granterath and
Hetzerath with
Commerden,
Genehen,
Scheidt and
Tenholt, a total of 3,488 inhabitants
* District 6:
Lövenich with
Katzem and
Kleinbouslar, a total of 4,147 inhabitants
* District 7:
Kückhoven
Erkelenz (, ) is a town in the Rhineland in western Germany that lies southwest of Mönchengladbach on the northern edge of the Cologne Lowland, halfway between the Lower Rhine region and the Lower Meuse (river), Meuse. It is a medium-sized tow ...
, a total of 2,250 inhabitants
* District 8:
Keyenberg and
Venrath with
Berverath,
Etgenbusch,
Kaulhausen,
Kuckum,
Mennekrath,
Neuhaus,
Oberwestrich,
Terheeg,
Unterwestrich and
Wockerath, a total of 3,468 inhabitants
* District 9:
Holzweiler and
Immerath (new) with
Lützerath and
Pesch, a total of 2,372 inhabitants
Coat of arms
The coat of arms is parted horizontally. The upper part is blue, and contains the golden lion of the
duchy
A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition.
There once existed an important differe ...
of
Guelders
The Duchy of Guelders (; ; ) is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries.
Geography
The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') in present-day Germany. Though the present pr ...
(''Geldern''). In the silver (white) lower part is a red
medlar
''Mespilus germanica'', known as the medlar or common medlar, is a large shrub or small tree in the rose family Rosaceae. When the genus ''Mespilus'' is included in the genus ''Crataegus'', the correct name for this species is ''Crataegus germa ...
, also called rose of Geldern. The coat of arms shows the centuries-old connection to the duchy. The colours from the shield became the colours of the city: blue and white.
History
Pre- and early history
There have been discoveries of Old and New
Stone Age
The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...
flint-knapping sites across the whole of the present area of the borough. Near
Haberg House, north of Lövenich, there is a site of national renown. Near Kückhoven a
wooden well was discovered in 1990 that belonged to a settlement of the
Linear Pottery culture
The Linear Pottery culture (LBK) is a major archaeological horizon of the European Neolithic period, flourishing . Derived from the German ''Linearbandkeramik'', it is also known as the Linear Band Ware, Linear Ware, Linear Ceramics or Incis ...
and had been built around 5,100 B.C. This makes it one of the oldest wooden structures in the world.
[Jürgen Weiner, ''Eine bandkeramische Siedlung mit Brunnen bei Erkelenz-Kückhoven'', in: Schriften des Heimatvereins der Erkelenzer Lande, Vol. 12, Erkelenz 1992, pp. 17 ff.] North of the old village of Erkelenz, on the present day Mary Way (''Marienweg''), lay three cremation graves (''Brandgräber''), northwest to south of numerous fields of rubble. Roman bricks,
hypocaust bricks and shards come from the marketplace south of the
town hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
. Here in the southwest corner and east of the chancel of the Roman Catholic parish church there are urn graves enclosed by glacial erratics of the early Frankish period from 300 to 500 A.D. On the south and southeast edge of the market, round jars were also found in the style of
Badorf ceramics from
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...
times.
[Institut für geschichtliche Landeskunde der Rheinlande an der Universität Bonn, ''Rheinischer Städteatlas'', III Nr. 15, Cologne 1976, p. 1] In 1906 a Roman
Jupiter Column
A Jupiter Column ( or ) is a monument belonging to a type widespread in Roman Germania.
Description
Jupiter Column pillars express the religious beliefs of their time. They were erected in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, mostly near Roman settlem ...
from the beginning of the 3rd century A.D. was discovered in Kleinbouslar. The Erkelenz
chronicler
A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events, ...
Mathias Baux wrote in the 16th century that ''"the bushes in the middle period were cleared and the soil turned into fertile fields, so that out of the harsh wilderness a corn-rich land and overall a breezy paradise was established."''
[Josef Gaspers, Leo Sels et al. ''Geschichte der Stadt Erkelenz'', Erkelenz, 1926, p. 2] From Mathias Baux's perspective, the middle period was the 8th century, which corresponds to the emergence of the Carolingian Empire. Under the present-day Catholic church lay Frankish and medieval graves without any grave goods as well as broken pieces of Badorf Ceramic and Roman bricks.
Origin of the name
The overwhelming theory is that the name ''Erkelenz'' belongs to the group of
Gallo-Romance Gallo-Romance can refer to:
* Old Gallo-Romance, the Romance language spoken from around 600 to 900 AD.
* Gallo-Romance languages, a branch of the Romance language family, which includes in the narrowest sense the ''langues d'oïl'' and Franco-Prov ...
placename
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper nam ...
s. According to this view the name of the town, which first appears in the records in a document dating to 966 A.D. sealed by
Otto the Great
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Frankish ( German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son of Henry the Fowler and Matilda ...
as ''herclinze'', comes from ''fundus herculentiacus'': Herculentian
estate (Estate of Herculentius). From the original adjectival character of the personal name the neuter noun ''Herculentiacum'' developed. However a continuity of settlement from
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
to
Frankish times cannot be proven. As a result, it is also postulated that the name does not have Roman, but
Old High German
Old High German (OHG; ) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally identified as the period from around 500/750 to 1050. Rather than representing a single supra-regional form of German, Old High German encompasses the numerous ...
origins, according to which the word ''linta'' =
lime tree
''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Great Britain and Irelan ...
.
[Paul ter Meer, ''Ortsnamen des Kreises Erkelenz - Ein Versuch zu ihrer Deutung'', Erkelenz 1924, pp. 8 f.] In 1118 A.D. the name of the place finally appears as ''Erkelenze''.
Manorialism
On 17 January 966, St. Mary's Abbey in Aachen (''Marienstift zu Aachen'') was given ''inter alia'' the settlements of Erkelenz and its neighbour, Oestrich, in the County of
Eremfried in the
Mühlgau as part of an exchange with the
Lotharingian Count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
Immo. Emperor Otto the Great confirmed this exchange in the aforementioned deed at an imperial assembly (''
Hoftag
A ''Hoftag'' (, pl. ''Hoftage'') was the name given to an informal and irregular assembly convened by the King of the Romans, the Holy Roman Emperor or one of the Princes of the Empire, with selected chief princes within the empire. Early schola ...
'') in Aachen. From then on the abbey was the owner of the entire estate in Erkelenz and the surrounding villages with the proviso that territorial lordship was exercised by the count. Later the estates owned by the abbey were divided between the
provost and
chapter
Chapter or Chapters may refer to:
Books
* Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document
* Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10
* Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...
. The farms were not managed independently, but were leased. Not until 1803 did the abbey lose these rights of ownership, when France introduced
secularisation
In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...
into the Rhineland.
Town rights
Erkelenz received its
town rights
Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...
in 1326 from Count
Reginald II of Guelders, as can be read in the town chronicle by
Matthias Baux.
But no deed granting town rights exists, which is why it has been suggested that there was no fixed date but, instead, a long drawn-out process of becoming a town over many years that may have dragged on into the 14th century. However, against that is the fact that there is a jury seal dating to the year 1331, and that Erkelenz appears on the Guelders urban diet on 1 December 1343. In 1359 Erkelenz is described in a document as a Guelders town
and bears the Guelders lions and rose on its seal and
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
.
Territorial lordship
From the end of the 11th century the counts of
Guelders
The Duchy of Guelders (; ; ) is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries.
Geography
The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') in present-day Germany. Though the present pr ...
, the first being
Gerard III of Wassenberg, also known as Gerard I, Count of Guelders,
[Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, 4th edition, Vol. 7, Leipzig and Vienna, 1890, pp. 52 f.] also possessed the lordship in Erkelenz. They were
advocates
An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. Howeve ...
appointed by the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
and exercise jurisdiction, trade protection and military command. In 1339
Emperor Louis the Bavarian elevated Guelders to a
dukedom, under Rainald II,
that was divided into four "quarters" (''Quartiere''). Erkelenz and its surrounding villages belonged to the upper quarter (''Oberquartier'') of Guelders with its main centre at
Roermond
Roermond (; or ) is a city, municipality, and diocese in the Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg province of the Netherlands. Roermond is a historically important town on the lower Roer on the east bank of the river Meuse. It received City rights i ...
and was an
exclave
An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...
of Guelders within the
Duchy of Jülich
The Duchy of Jülich (; ; ) comprised a state within the Holy Roman Empire from the 11th to the 18th centuries. The duchy lay west of the Rhine river and was bordered by the Electorate of Cologne to the east and the Duchy of Limburg to the wes ...
. It formed the
Amt of Erkelenz, together with the non-isolated villages of Wegberg,
Krüchten and
Brempt, headed by the ''
Amtmann
__NOTOC__
The ''Amtmann'' or ''Ammann'' (in Switzerland) was an official in German-speaking countries of Europe and in some of the Nordic countries from the time of the Middle Ages whose office was akin to that of a bailiff
A bailiff is a ...
'' (Drossard).
The town's constitution and administration was consistent with those of the other towns in Guelders. Seven magistrates (''Schöffen'') who, like the mayors, had to possess wealth in the town or the county, and ten common councillors put forward two candidates for the office of town mayor (''Stadtbürgermeister'') and two for that of county mayor (''Landbürgermeister'') for a period of office of one year, but they were elected only by the magistrates, who actually ran the administration of the town, whilst the council only fulfilled representative functions.

Soon after its elevation to town status, work began on the brick fortifications of the place. These probably consisted of basic ramparts as had been common since time immemorial for the defence of settlements,
which had been started in the 11th century. Although the castle was not documented until 1349, the town appeared to have developed under the protection of the castle along the ''Pangel'', the oldest mentioned street (''in deme Pandale'', 1398) which was in its immediate vicinity. The nearby ''Johannismarkt'' (''alder mart '', Engl.: old market, 1420) and the more distant square known today simply as ''Markt'' ("market"), then referred to as the (Engl.: new market, 1480), were also mentioned.
[Institut für geschichtliche Landeskunde der Rheinlande an der Universität Bonn, ''Rheinischer Städteatlas'', III No. 15, Cologne, 1976, p. 3] In addition the castle had clearly been built within the
town walls
A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or Earthworks (military), earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as ...
, so that it must have been there at least when town rights were granted in 1326.
[Edwin Pinzek, in: ''Bedeutende Bau- und Kunstwerke in Erkelenz'', eine Reihe der Stadt Erkelenz] It is also hardly likely that an undefended place would have been elevated to the status of a town. Finally, the first and strongest town gateway, the Brück Gate (''Brücktor'', on ''Brückstraße'') was built in 1355 on the Cologne Military Road (''Kölner Heerbahn'') that came from Roermond to Erkelenz and ran along the Theodor-Körner Road, Mühlenstraße and Wockerath to Cologne.
[Institut für geschichtliche Landeskunde der Rheinlande an der Universität Bonn, ''Rheinischer Städteatlas'', III No. 15, Cologne, 1976, p. 4]
In a
feud
A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...
between
Edward of Guelders, who was a son of Duke Reginald II and adversary of his elder brother,
Reginald III,
Count
Engelbert III of the Mark
Engelbert III of the Mark (1333–1391) was the Count of Mark from 1347 until 1391.
Adolph was the eldest son of Count Adolph II of the Marck and Margaret of Cleves. After his father died in 1347, Engelbert III ruled the County of Mark, mainly f ...
conquered the now insufficiently fortified town in 1371 and partly destroyed it. The childless Edward fell in the same year on the
battlefield of Baesweiler fighting on the side of his brother in law, Duke
William II of Jülich, against Duke
Wenceslaus I of Brabant. When in that year his brother, Rainald III, also died without issue,
fighting broke out repeatedly over the inheritance and possession of the Duchy of Guelders under which Erkelenz, as an exclave of Guelders in the state of Jülich, suffered particularly severely from the burdens of war, quartering of soldiers, robbery and plundering.
The construction of fortifications at Erkelenz was brought forward to meet the strategic requirements of its local lords. Built in 1416 under
Reginald IV of Guelders, opposite the Brück Gate (''Brücktor'') on the other side of town, was the Maar Gate (''Maartor, Aachener Strasse''),
which faced the Jülich, south of the town. In 1423, the Duchy of Guelders, and thus the town of Erkelenz, fell to
Arnold of Egmond,
and, in 1425, to
Adolphus of Jülich-Berg
Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo, and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name with German origins.
The name is a compound derived from the Old High German ''Athalwolf'' (or ''Hadulf''), a composition of ''athal'', or ''adal'', mean ...
.
After his nephew and successor,
Gerhard II of Jülich-Berg had defeated Arnold of Egmond in the
Battle of Linnich, the Oerath Gate (''Oerather Tor, Roermonder Straße'')) was completed in 1454,
that faced Roermond. Despite the increasing cost of work on the fortifications, the town was able to afford it. In 1458 it immediately started work on a new bell tower, that has survived until today, after the tower of the old Romanesque church had collapsed.

In 1473 the town came into the possession of
Charles the Bold
Charles Martin (10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), called the Bold, was the last duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois-Burgundy, ruling from 1467 to 1477. He was the only surviving legitimate son of Philip the Good and his third wife, ...
of Burgundy who, whilst at war against Lorraine in 1476, personally accepted the
homage of the townsfolk of Erkelenz. In 1481 the town fell to
Maximilian I of Austria and, in 1492, to the son of Arnold of Egmond,
Charles of Egmond, who also presented himself personally in the same year at Erkelenz. At that time the fortress of Erkelenz was so strong that Maximilian I instructed the Dukes of Jülich and
Kleve
Kleve (; traditional ; ; ; ; ; Low Rhenish: ''Kleff'') is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Netherlands, Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century onwards, Cleves was capital of a county and lat ...
, who were allied with him against Guelders, not to engage in a bombardment of the town, but to take them with the aid of storming bridges (''Sturmbrücken''). Using that method, an army of 3000 foot soldiers and 1,000 horse under
William IV of Jülich took them by surprise in August 1498. In 1500 the town fell again to Charles of Egmond,
so that in 1514 the gate opposite the Oerath Gate opposite the Bellinghoven Gate (''Bellinghovener Tor, Kölner Straße'') was built,
which sealed a gap facing Julich. There were 14
defensive tower
A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with defensive walls such as curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of ...
s in the town wall with its four gate castles (''Torburgen'') and, in front of it was a second wall, separated by a moat.
The town was thus considered impregnable.
In 1538 Guelders fell to
William of Jülich, Cleves and Berg During that period the great town fire of 1540 occurred on 21 June of that year. The fire broke out during a summer heatwave, almost entirely razing the town apart from few houses by the Brück Gate and on ''Maarstraße''. Help came from the neighbouring Guelders towns of Roermond and
Venlo
Venlo () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in southeastern Netherlands, close to the border with Germany. It is situated in the province of Limburg (Netherlands), ...
.
Emperor Charles V
Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) fr ...
who, in 1543, following the capture of
Düren
Düren (; Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: Düre) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Aachen and Cologne, on the river Rur (river), Rur.
History
Roman era
The area of Düren was part of Gallia Belgica, more specifically the ter ...
and Julich during his march on Roermond with a 30,000 strong army, stayed personally in Erkelenz. ended the Guelders succession wars at the
Treaty of Venlo
The Treaty of Venlo of 7 September 1543 concluded the Guelders Wars (1502–1543), and the definitive acquisition of the Duchy of Guelders and the adjoining County of Zutphen by the House of Habsburg, adding them to the Habsburg Netherlands. Wil ...
. The town now ended up, together with the Duchy of Guelders, under to the Spanish
House of Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...
and was part of the
Spanish Netherlands
The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...
,
then the richest country in Europe. So, for example, the town was able, as the inscription on a rock near the entrance testifies, to replace the destroyed town hall as early as 1546 with a new building that is still standing.
[Josef Gaspers, Leo Sels et al. ''Geschichte der Stadt Erkelenz'', Erkelenz, 1926, pp. 5]

Lasting peace did not, however, return to the land and several times epidemics struck the town. In 1580 it was almost completely depopulated by the plague. During the
Spanish-Dutch War in 1607, Dutch troops took the town and plundered it. After Erkelenz had been unsuccessfully besieged in 1610 during the
Jülich-Cleves War of Succession, the army of the French king,
Louis XIV
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
, allied with the troops of the
Archbishop of Cologne
The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ''ex officio'' one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate of Cologne ...
, was finally in a position to take the town on the evening of 9 May 1674. This attack which took place during the
French-Dutch War only succeeded on the fourth assault using the newly invented cannons, when two of the four gates fell. On that day, the town ceased to be a fortification. The attackers are reported to have lost 400 dead, the defenders just six. The invaders forced the townsfolk to breach the walls and blew up the Bellinghoven and Oerath gates, both of which blocked free passage to the Netherlands.
In the
War of Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish ...
, Erkelenz was occupied by Prussian troops in 1702 who did not leave again until 1713. In the
Treaty of Utrecht
The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaty, peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vac ...
in 1714 Duke
John William of Jülich and
Elector Palatine
This article lists counts palatine of Lotharingia, counts palatine of the Rhine, and electors of the Palatinate (), the titles of three counts palatine who ruled some part of the Rhine region in the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire b ...
(of
Palatinate-Neuburg
Palatinate-Neuburg () was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire, founded in 1505 by a branch of the House of Wittelsbach. Its capital was Neuburg an der Donau. Its area was about 2,750 km2, with a population of some 100,000.
History
The Du ...
) was given Erkelenz; the town not paying him homage until 1719. The town thus lost its centuries-old affiliation with the Upper Quarter of Guelders. From 1727 to 1754 the territory of Erkelenz (''Herrlichkeit Erkelenz'') was pledged to Freiherr von Francken,
who also stayed from time to time in the town.
From 1794 to 1815 it belonged to France, along with the lands left of the Rhine, and was given a permanent contingent of French troops. Initially Erkelenz formed a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
(''Munizipalität''), from 1800 a ''
mairie
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
'' (mayoralty) and, from 1798, was the seat of the
canton of Erkelenz in the ''
arrondissement
An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, and certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands.
Europe
France
The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissem ...
'' of Crefeld, which was part of the ''
département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...
'' of
Roer
The Roer (, ) or Rur (; ) is a major river that flows through portions of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. It is a right (eastern) tributary to the Meuse (). About 90 percent of the river's course is in Germany.
It is not to be conf ...
. In 1815 the
King
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
of
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
became the new landlord following Napoleon's defeat at
Waterloo
Waterloo most commonly refers to:
* Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces
* Waterloo, Belgium
Waterloo may also refer to:
Other places
Australia
* Waterloo, New South Wale ...
. In the years 1818/19 the tumbledown town walls and gates were demolished. Instead of walls the four present-day promenade streets were built, each named after their respective points of the compass. From 1816 to 1972 Erkelenz was the seat of the rural district of Erkelenz (''Kreis Erkelenz'').
Industrialisation
Around 1825 Andreas Polke from
Ratibor took up residence in the town and founded a
pin
A pin is a device, typically pointed, used for fastening objects or fabrics together. Pins can have the following sorts of body:
*a shaft of a rigid inflexible material meant to be inserted in a slot, groove, or hole (as with pivots, hinges, an ...
factory. The nearby region around Aachen was a leading light in this trade at the time. In 1841 Polke employed 73 workers in his factory, of whom 36 were
child workers under 14; for those of school age he ran a factory school. Pins were made in Erkelenz until about 1870. In 1852 Erkelenz was connected to the
Aachen–Mönchengladbach railway
The Aachen–Mönchengladbach railway is a main line in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is an important link between the Ruhr and Belgium for freight trains and is served by regional passenger trains. The line was built by the Aac ...
and, in addition to a
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
for passenger services, was also given a
goods station
A goods station (also known as a goods yard or goods depot) or freight station is, in the widest sense, a railway station where, either exclusively or predominantly, goods (or freight), such as merchandise, parcels, and manufactured items, are lo ...
with
marshalling sidings, a
hump
Hump, The Hump, or humping may refer to:
Biological
* Hump, the fleshy mass on the back of a camel containing its fat reservoir
** For other examples, see the list of animals with humps
* Humping, slang for sexual intercourse
** Dry humping, a fo ...
and a
turntable
A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding phys ...
. The increased volume of traffic into Erkelenz station necessitated an upgrade of the four roads radiating from the town to something like ''
chaussee
''Chaussee'' is an historic term used in German-speaking countries for early, metalled, rural highways, designed by road engineers, as opposed to the hitherto, traditional, unpaved country roads. The term is no longer used in modern road construc ...
'' standard and in the succeeding decades a development of the town beyond its medieval town boundaries along the present ''Kölner Straße'' towards the station.
In the 19th century hand weaving with looms was the predominant activity of the surrounding villages. The Industrial Age in Erkelenz first began with the introduction of mechanical weaving looms for making cloth. In 1854 the Rockstoff Factory I.B. Oellers, was established on the present ''Parkweg''; it was a mechanical
weaving mill which, at times, employed 120 workers and 20 salesmen. In 1872 the mechanical
plush weaving mill of Karl Müller (corner of ''Kölner Straße'' and ''Heinrich Jansen Weg'') was founded; it employed 60 hand weavers in Erkelenz and another 400 in the regions of
Berg
Berg may refer to:
People
*Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
* General Berg (disambiguation)
* Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor
* Berg (footballer, born 1963), Ninimbergue dos Santos Guerra, Brazilian footba ...
and the
Rhön area for the main Erkelenz operation. In 1897 the Halcour Textile Factory appeared on ''Neußer Straße'', which had 67 male and 22 female workers in 1911 in its factory-owned health insurance department.
The town's actual step into the Industrial Age took place in 1897 when the industrial pioneer,
Anton Raky, moved the head office of the International Drilling Company (''Internationaler Bohrgesellschaft''), known locally as the ''Bohr'', to Erkelenz. Key factors in choosing this location were the favourable railway links to the
Ruhr area
The Ruhr ( ; , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr Area, sometimes Ruhr District, Ruhr Region, or Ruhr Valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 1,160/km2 and a populati ...
and the
Aachen Coalfield. In the years that followed industrial workers and engineers flocked to Erkelenz, creating a shortage of housing, a situation that could only be alleviated by establishing a charitable building association. Between the town centre and the railway line, a new quarter emerged, known colloquially as ''Kairo'' (pronounced: Kah-ee-roh) due to the little foreign looking towers on many of the houses. In 1909 the drilling firm employed 50 staff and 460 workers. During the wartime year of 1916 it had as many as 1,600 employees. When, on 10 May 1898, a bronze statue of
Emperor William I was erected on the market place, it was illuminated, at Raky's initiative, with electric lighting from
arc lamps. That marked the introduction of
electricity
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
into the public arena in Erkelenz. In the same year the first street lamps were erected in ''Bahnhofstraße'' (today ''Kölner Straße'') and the first mains electricity was delivered to houses.
Gründerzeit
The (; ) was a period of Economic history of Europe (1000 AD–present), European economic history in mid- and late-19th century German Empire, Germany and Austria-Hungary between Industrialization in Germany, industrialization and the great P ...
house façades are witnesses to the development at the turn of the century. In the next two decades the town built the waterworks on the present ''Bernhard-Hahn-Straße'' with its
water tower
A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...
visible for kilometres, the
electricity works, the
slaughterhouse
In livestock agriculture and the meat industry, a slaughterhouse, also called an abattoir (), is a facility where livestock animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a mea ...
, the
swimming baths and a large school building for the
gymnasium on the ''Südpromenade''. The founding of a
korn
Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, originally formed in 1993 by James Shaffer, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and David Silveria, who were members of the band ...
distillery, a
brewery
A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...
, a
malthouse
A malt house, malt barn, or maltings, is a building where cereal grain is converted into malt by soaking it in water, allowing it to sprout and then drying it to stop further growth. The malt is used in brewing beer, whisky and in certain foo ...
and a
dairy
A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...
acted as new outlets for agriculture. In 1910 Arnold Koepe built an engineering workshop in the former Karl Müller plush weaving mill in order to manufacture coal wagons for the
mines. In 1916 Ferdinand Clasen took over the operation and in 1920 founded the Erkelenz Engineering Factory (''Erkelenzer Maschinenfabrik'') from this firm on ''Bernhard-Hahn-Straße'' that employed up to 200 workers.
World wars and inter-war years
During the First World War the local economy also ground to a halt as a result of conscription, the priority given to the transportation of troops and war materiel on the railways as well as the large contingents of troops that marched through the town with their resulting demands. To alleviate the lack of labour, prisoners of war, mainly Russians who had been interned in 1915 in a
POW camp
A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war.
There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, an ...
on the land of the International Drilling Company, were employed, mainly in agriculture. In order to meet the wartime demand for metal, the townsfolk had to give up relevant implements and the church had to donate some of its bells in return for little compensation. The lost war cost the lives of 142 Erkelenz townsfolk in Army service and another 155 were injured, some seriously.
After this war, which also saw the end of the
German Empire
The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
2,000 soldiers were stationed here between 1918 and 1926. French troops were quartered here until 19 November 1919 and then Belgian troops took over from 1 December 1919. Huts were erected on ''Neusser Straße'' and ''Tenholter Straße'' as soldiers' quarters, in addition to commandeered houses, flats were built on ''Freiheitsplatz'', on ''Graf-Reinald-Straße'' and ''Glück-auf-Straße'' for the officers and NCOs.
Because gold and silver had to be given up at the beginning of the war and the gold standard had been replaced by paper money, the cost of all goods rose dramatically, despite the command economy, to paper money prices that were scarcely affordable, so that the supply of paper money finally ran out and the communal authorities were permitted to print their own paper money. In 1921 the town had emergency money printed in the shape of paper notes with values of 50 and 75 pfennigs to a total value of 70,000 marks. This emergency currency went into partial circulation, but was withdrawn again in 1922.
When the French and Belgians occupied the Ruhr in January 1923, in order to take coal and steel back to their own countries, there was passive resistance, which later became known as the
Battle of the Ruhr (''Ruhrkampf''). In Erkelenz this passive resistance was carried out especially by railwaymen, in the course of which the Belgian secret police expelled 14 families, including small children, who had been reported by narks. They were abandoned, in some cases using force, in remote places at night and in fog.
Right from the start of the occupation France and Belgium had tried unsuccessfully to annexe the Rhineland. Now, using the excuse of the resistance that had flared up, they tried to take it by force. In Aachen
Separatist troops, which had established themselves by force of arms in various Rhenish towns, called for a
Rhenish Republic
The Rhenish Republic () was proclaimed at Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle) in October 1923 during the occupation of the Ruhr by troops from France and Belgium (January 19231925) and subjected itself to French protectorate. It comprised three territorie ...
. On 21 October 1923 such a force also appeared in Erkelenz, hoisted the Rhenish flag over the town hall and the courthouse by force of arms under the protection of the Belgians and demanded that the municipal and state officials now serve the Rhenish Republic. Officials and townsfolk refused and hauled down the separatist flag the following day. To the great joy of the population, the occupying troops pulled out a year later on 31 January 1926 in accordance with the
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...
. The bells of all the churches rang at midnight, their hour of freedom, and that year Erkelenz also celebrated the 600th anniversary of being granted its town rights.
After Hitler had seized power on 30 January 1933 and after the Reichstag and local elections had been held in March 1933, the
Nazis
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
in Erkelenz under the leadership of
Nazi
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
''Kreisleiter'', Kurt Horst, began, using the authority of the municipal "parliaments", to rename all the roads and squares after their own leaders. For example, from April 1933 Erkelenz had an ''
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
Platz'' (''Johannismarkt''), a ''
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...
Platz'' (''
Martin Luther
Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...
Platz'') and a ''
Horst Wessel
Horst Ludwig Georg Erich Wessel (9 October 1907 – 23 February 1930) was a member of the Sturmabteilung (SA), the paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party, who became a propaganda symbol in Nazi Germany following his murder in 1930 by two members ...
Straße'' (''Brückstraße''). In May 1933 they forced the incumbent democratic mayor, Dr. Ernst de Werth, out of office under threat of taking him into "
protective custody
Protective custody (PC) is a type of imprisonment (or care) to protect a person from harm, either from outside sources or other prisoners. Many prison administrators believe the level of violence, or the underlying threat of violence within pris ...
", made Adolf Hitler an honorary citizen and pursued political dissidents,
trades unionists and
clergymen
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
.
In July 1933 a so-called
Hereditary Health Court was established at the district courthouse in Erkelenz as in all districts in the
German Empire
The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
, whose task was to direct the forced sterilisation of mentally and physically handicapped people as part of what later became Hitler's "Euthanasia Programme", known after the war as
Action T4
(German, ) was a campaign of Homicide#By state actors, mass murder by involuntary euthanasia which targeted Disability, people with disabilities and the mentally ill in Nazi Germany. The term was first used in post-WWII, war trials against d ...
. This programme of Nazi violence saw the systematic murder of those seen by the
Nazis
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
as "asocial", "inferior" and "unworthy of living". In Erkelenz, such people ended up in Nazareth House in Immerath.
By April 1933 the NSDAP had organised a boycott of
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
businesses in the town, whilst the 1938 November pogroms (the so-called ''
Reichskristallnacht'') finally led to anti-Semitic acts of violence. The
synagogue
A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
on the ''Westpromenade'' was devastated by mobs commanded by the
SS and
SA, Jews were arrested and Jewish businesses in the town were plundered and demolished. In March/April 1941 Jews all over Germany were evacuated from their homes and concentrated in so-called Jew houses (''Judenhäusern''), to which they were only permitted to take the absolute essentials from their property. In Erkelenz on 1 April 1941 the Nazis forced the remaining Jews in the town of Erkelenz to leave their homes and take up residence in the ''Spiess Hof'', a farmstead in Hetzerath, from where they were deported in 1942 via the
Izbica Ghetto
The Izbica ghetto was a Jewish ghetto created by Nazi Germany in Izbica in occupied Poland during World War II, serving as a transfer point for deportation of Jews from Poland, Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia to Bełżec and Sobibór exterm ...
to the
extermination camps
Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe, primarily in occupied Poland, during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocau ...
.
Towards the end of the Second World War, as the
Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...
advanced towards Germany's western border in the middle of September 1944, Erkelenz was gradually cleared out, like many other places in the Aachen region. Whilst long streams of refugees moved eastwards across the Rhine, as well as groups of
fieldwork
Field research, field studies, or fieldwork is the collection of raw data outside a laboratory, library, or workplace setting. The approaches and methods used in field research vary across disciplines. For example, biologists who conduct f ...
labourers there were large units of armed SA in the border region who tyrannised and robbed the remaining population. As part of the "Rur Front",
anti-tank ditches were dug west of the town in a semi-circular arc,
minefield
A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, wh ...
s were sewn and
infantry
Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...
positions were constructed with extensively branched trenches in order to create a strong
hedgehog defence. The first major
carpet bombing
Carpet bombing, also known as saturation bombing, is a large area bombardment done in a progressive manner to inflict damage in every part of a selected area of land. The phrase evokes the image of explosions completely covering an area, in t ...
air raid took place on 8 October 1944 over the town. During the second air raid on 6 December 1944 44 people died. Between the major carpet bomb attacks, non-stop
fighter bomber
A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, wh ...
raids went on from dawn to dusk and often into the night, continuing the work of destruction by
strafing
Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons.
Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such a ...
and
bombing
A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...
. From December 1944 the town also came within the range of allied artillery. During a further bombing raid on 16 January 1945, 31 people were killed, including 16 in one
bunker
A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...
on ''Anton Raky Allee''. Amongst the SS combat troops, the command was issued from the top to the lowest level to pull out and they did so, as did the local party functionaries, who had been burning their records for days. The fourth and heaviest air raid on the now abandoned town took place on 23 February 1945. About 90 four-engined bombers flew over in two waves. Everything that had survived the war to that point now lay in ashes: the churches, the community hall, the courthouse, the swimming baths, the hospital, the schools and the kindergarten; only the tower of the Roman Catholic parish church remained standing, albeit badly damaged. When, three days later, on 26 February 1945, American armoured units of the
102nd US Infantry Division of the
9th US Army
The Ninth Army was a field army of the United States Army, most recently garrisoned at Caserma Ederle, Vicenza, Italy. It was the United States Army Service Component Command of United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM or AFRICOM).
Activated ju ...
entered the town and the surrounding villages, the warning signs on the minefields indicated the safe lanes because there was no one left who could have removed them. The ''
Volkssturm
The (, ) was a ''levée en masse'' national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was set up by the Nazi Party on the orders of Adolf Hitler and established on 25 September 1944. It was staffed by conscri ...
'' troops gave themselves up without a fight. At the end of this war, Erkelenz was largely destroyed and counted 300 killed in air raids, 1,312 dead and 974 wounded within the county of Erkelenz.
The post-war period
As Allied forces invaded the area, the inhabitants of the surrounding villages had to leave their houses and for many days and weeks, they were driven from one place to another or concentrated in camps without enough supplies, whilst their homes were plundered, wrecked and, in many cases, set on fire. In addition, former Russian forced labourers, who were concentrated into the nearby village of Hetzerath, armed themselves with war materiel that had been left lying around and threatened town and country by robbing, killing and starting fires. The logistic troops of the invading forces also stole on a grand scale. By the end of March 1945 about 25 people still lived in Erkelenz and, as the town gradually filled up with retreating evacuees, they lacked all the basic necessities.
In early June 1945, British troops replaced the Americans. Several of the leading Nazis, who were found among those retreating, were arrested and placed on trial. So-called "Persil notes" (''Persilscheine'') were much sought after. The majority of the lower-ranking Nazis and their followers were forced into clearing rubble and cleaning up the town. But the remaining townsfolk, especially farmers who still had a horse or ox and cart, were also called upon to supply manual labour or transport. Even the youth were encouraged to volunteer for work details in order to help with the rebuilding of the town. The nature of most of the work was self-help and the newly reorganised town government only focussed on those building regulations that were absolutely necessary.
The first general municipal elections took place on 15 September 1946. From 1947‚
CARE Package
The CARE Package was the original unit of aid distributed by the humanitarian organization CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere). Originally CARE was dubbed the Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe, and in 1946 CARE se ...
s arrived in the town, filled with food and such like, mainly sent by Americans of German origin. Apart from the returning population of the town, increasing numbers of refugees from Germany's eastern territories had to be absorbed, so that in the 1950s a new quarter of the town, ''Flachsfeld'', was built. At the same time, the town also spread out over the fields between the few houses of
Buscherhof and the Oerath Mill, forming a new large quarter, the ''Marienviertel''. Almost all its roads, which lay on both sides of the old ''Marienweg'', a Marian pilgrimage route that ran to
Holtum, bore the names of east German towns. Not until 1956 and 1957 did the town's population receive the last
repatriate
Repatriation is the return of a thing or person to its or their country of origin, respectively. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as the return of mi ...
s from the war and from POW camps at Erkelenz Station.
Chronological summary
*966: Erkelenz was first mentioned in a document as Herclinze, 1118 as Erkelenze.
*1326: Erkelenz received town rights from the
count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
of Guelders. (1339 the noble man became duke.) The area of Erkelenz was an
exclave
An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...
of the duchy of Guelders in the
duchy of Jülich
The Duchy of Jülich (; ; ) comprised a state within the Holy Roman Empire from the 11th to the 18th centuries. The duchy lay west of the Rhine river and was bordered by the Electorate of Cologne to the east and the Duchy of Limburg to the wes ...
. The town belonged to the Upper Quarter
Roermond
Roermond (; or ) is a city, municipality, and diocese in the Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg province of the Netherlands. Roermond is a historically important town on the lower Roer on the east bank of the river Meuse. It received City rights i ...
.
*1543: The Spanish Netherlands (Spanish
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...
) got Erkelenz.
*1713: After the
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...
the
duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
of Jülich, who was also
prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
of
palatine
A palatine or palatinus (Latin; : ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman Empire, Roman times. (Pfalz-Neuburg) received the town.
*1794: France invaded the area, Erkelenz belonged to this state and became the capital of the district
Canton Erkelenz in the
Roer
The Roer (, ) or Rur (; ) is a major river that flows through portions of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. It is a right (eastern) tributary to the Meuse (). About 90 percent of the river's course is in Germany.
It is not to be conf ...
département.
*1815: After the defeat of
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
Erkelenz became part of
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
. The district was now called Kreis Erkelenz.
*1818/1819: The
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
walls and gates of the town were demolished.
*1852: The railway
Aachen
Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants.
Aachen is locat ...
–
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...
was built
*1897: The engineer Anton Raky established a
drill
A drill is a tool used for making round holes or driving fasteners. It is fitted with a drill bit for making holes, or a screwdriver bit for securing fasteners. Historically, they were powered by hand, and later mains power, but cordless b ...
ing machine factory, today WIRTH Group.
*1938: The
synagogue
A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
was desecrated.
*26 February 1945: Erkelenz was captured by the 407th
infantry regiment
Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...
of the
U.S. 102nd Infantry Division (Ozarks),
US Ninth Army.
*1945: The machine factory Hegenscheidt relocated from
Ratibor to Erkelenz.
*1972: The district Kreis Erkelenz was abolished, it became part of the Kreis Heinsberg. The area of the town Erkelenz was enlarged from to .
Population development
* 1812: 3.370
* 1861: 4.148
* 1895: 4.168
* 1900: 4.612
* 1925: 6.605
* 1935: 7.162
* 1946: 6.348
* 1950: 7.475
* 1960: 11.876
* 1970: 12.807
* 1980: 38.175
* 1990: 39.957
* 2000: 43.194
* 2005: 44.625
* 2010: 44.457
Mayors since 1814
Twin towns – sister cities
Erkelenz is
twinned with:
*
Bad Windsheim
Bad Windsheim (; East Franconian: ''Winsa'') is a historic town in Bavaria, Germany with a population of more than 12,000. It lies in the district Neustadt an der Aisch-Bad Windsheim, west of Nuremberg. In the Holy Roman Empire, Windsheim held t ...
, Germany
*
Saint-James
Saint-James () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2017, the former communes of Argouges, Carnet, La Croix-Avranchin, Montanel, Vergoncey and Villiers-le-Pré were merged into Saint-Jame ...
, France
Education
In Erkelenz there are ten
primary schools
A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
, two secondary schools (
Hauptschule
A ''Hauptschule'' (, "general school") is a secondary school in Germany, starting after four years of elementary schooling (''Grundschule''), which offers Lower Secondary Education (Level 2) according to the International Standard Classification ...
), 1 secondary modern school (
Realschule
Real school (, ) is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), F ...
), two high schools
Cornelius-Burgh-Gymnasium,
Cusanus-Gymnasium Erkelenz Europaschule), one business college (Berufskolleg des Kreises Heinsberg in Erkelenz) and one school for persons with learning disabilities.
Transport
* Motorway
Bundesautobahn 46
is an Autobahn in Germany. It is noncontiguous and split in several parts in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, an extension to Kassel in Hesse was planned but has been abandoned.
Exit list
, -
, colspan="2" style="text-align:Center;", N2 ...
* Motorway
Bundesautobahn 61
is an autobahn in Germany that connects the border to the Netherlands near Venlo in the northwest to the interchange with A 6 near Hockenheim. In 1965, this required a redesign of the Hockenheimring.
The autobahn runs parallel to the A ...
*
Erkelenz station on the
Aachen–Mönchengladbach railway
The Aachen–Mönchengladbach railway is a main line in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is an important link between the Ruhr and Belgium for freight trains and is served by regional passenger trains. The line was built by the Aac ...
, operated by
Deutsche Bahn
(, ; abbreviated as DB or DB AG ) is the national railway company of Germany, and a state-owned enterprise under the control of the German government. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG).
DB was fou ...
Buildings
* ''Altes Rathaus'' - The old
cityhall (1546
AD)
* ''Kirchturm'' - The
steeple
In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a relig ...
of the
catholic church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
St. Lambertus (1458 AD)
* ''Burg'' - The
castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
(1377 AD)
Museum
There is a Fire-brigade museum in the village of Lövenich.
Notable people
This section mentions some well-known persons who have been born and raised in Erkelenz, who have worked here or whose name is closely connected with the city:

*
Arnold von Harff
250px, Page of Arnold von Harff's book, with the Breton-low German vocabulary with a drawing of the way Nantes people were dressed
Arnold von Harff (1471 in Castell Harff, Bedburg – January 1505) was a 15th-century German traveler from Köl ...
(1471–1505), the knight and pilgrim lived from 1499 on a not survived
castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
behind today's estate Nierhoven at
Lövenich
*
Theodoor van Loon (c. 1581–1649), Flemish painter of the
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
*
Reinhold Vasters (1827–1909), goldsmith for sacred art and master falsifiers
*
Leo Heinrichs (1867–1908), Father in the
Franciscan Order
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
, was shot by an
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
in Denver during the Holy Mass in 1908, the
beatification
Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the p ...
procedure is initiated.
* Joseph Hahn (1883–1944), member of the
German Center Party
The Centre Party (, Z), officially the German Centre Party (, DZP) and also known in English as the Catholic Centre Party, is a Christian democratic political party in Germany. It was most influential in the German Empire and Weimar Republic. F ...
, editor of the newspaper '' Erkelenzer Kreisblatt '', 1944 imprisoned for several weeks in the course of the
Aktionthunder, died after his release in the same year the consequences of his
concentration camp
A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...
- imprisonment
* Werner Müller (1900–1982), Director of the Bohr-company, was sentenced on 14 October 1943 by the Volksgerichtshof to death for
Wehrkraftzersetzung
''Wehrkraftzersetzung'' or ''Zersetzung der Wehrkraft'' ( German for "corroding of defensive strength") was a sedition offence in German military law during the Nazi Germany era from 1938 to 1945.
''Wehrkraftzersetzung'' was enacted in 1938 b ...
, pardoned for life in February 1944, survived and rebuilt the drill rig after the war. From February 12 to October 12, 1946, he had been nominated by the British military government as district administrator of Erkelenz County
*
Dickie Peterson
Richard Allan Peterson (September 12, 1946 – October 12, 2009)[Blue Cheer
Blue Cheer was an American rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009. Based in San Francisco, Blue Cheer played in a psychedelic blues rock or acid rock style. The ...](_blank)
, who lived in Germany for extensive periods. Died in Erkelenz
*
Lewis Holtby (born 1990), German-British footballer currently playing for
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
*
Michael Bauer, the artist, was born here in 1973
References
External links
*
Photos and information
Firebrigade museum
{{Authority control
Towns in North Rhine-Westphalia
Districts of the Rhine Province
Heinsberg (district)
Holocaust locations in Germany